Friday, December 2nd Reading Log #5, Topic Choice #1- Characters

     In the novel, The Shack, the author, WM. Paul Young, provides an interesting selection of characters, with the story following the main male character, Mackenzie Allen Phillips, or Mack for short. Mack is an adult and his backstory was vaguely stated at the begining of the story in the foreword. From reading the first two chapters of the book, I can infer that Mack he is a man who cares for his family, he is religous, kind and is also stubbon, but he is very smart and intellegent. An example of my claim can be proven on page 12, when the author points out,"You don't realize how smart Mack is unless you happen to eavesdrop on a diolague he might have been having woth an expert." This demonstrates that behind the manly fiqure with priorities, lies a brain filled with knowledge, using technical and difficult terms that no ordinary man can understand. This may also correlate to the phrase, "Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover", as some may think that Mack is not smart, as he looks similar to any other man living in the area, but if you meet more about him, you can see that it something more interesting. Other characters in the novel include his Nan, wife, nurse, and careful mother who cares deeply for Mack and his position in life, his six children who haven't been properly introduced yet, mailman Tony and Annie who are side characters, and God or papa as Nan calls it , who seems very important in the story as the family is religious. The main character, Mack seems to be very dinamic, and changes throughout the story. As stated in the text, the author illuistrates this point when he states, "In all the time I've known him [Mack] he has been a rather gentle and kind soul, but since his stay in the hospital three years ago, he has been... well even nicer." This provides proof on how Mack is a dynamic character because it demonstrates that Mack has the will to change, how he thinks and how well he does it. This also exhibits that Mack changes throughout the story since he has changed before, on his perspective on life and other issues which can provide clues that Mack may be able to be more of a dynamic character.